Dog Food Nutrition Part 1: Reading and Understanding Dog Food Labels

Title: Dog Food Nutrition Part 1: Reading and Understanding Dog Food Labels
Author: Josh Paul

Dog Food Nutrition Part 1: Reading and Understanding Dog Food Labels
Trying to read and understand pet food labels can be quite
difficult and be very time consuming. There are many things
to consider when buying pet food: age, health, digestive
system and teeth. There are a lot of different varieties of
both wet and dry food for both cats and dogs. There are
even snacks that have labels that are hard to read.

The FDA states that pet food labels must give the minimum
percentages of protein and fat as well as the maximum
percentages of crude fiber and moisture. There are other
manufacturers that do list other ingredients as well. Dog
food labels do not usually state the minimum percentages of
calcium, sodium, phosphorus or linoleic acid. Cat food
labels normally list taurine and magnesium, two necessary
nutrients for cats.

The amount of moisture in pet foods is different in all
foods. Dry food does have the least amount and canned food
has the most. Make sure when comparing food, compare canned
food with canned food and dry food with other dry food.

There are three basic rules to pet food labels:

1- The 95% rule: If a product has a name like 'Beef for
Dogs' it has to have at least 95% of that product that is
names. With these, it is the beef and tuna and does not
include any added water.

2- The 25% rule: If there is a qualifying word in the
label, such as 'Dinner", 'Entree' 'Platter' or 'Formula'
there has to be at least 25% of the ingredient named on the
label. An example would be 'Shrimp Dinner'.

3- The 3% rule: If the label has the word 'with' it only
has to have 3% of that product named.

'Chicken Dog Food'- 95% rule applied 'Dog Food with Tuna'-
3% rule applied

It is also important to look at the entire list of
ingredients in pet foods. They are listed in descending
order. That being the first ingredient should be the
highest quality ingredient, such as meat. You should be
careful when purchasing food that contains 'animal
by-products' because they do not give any nutrition to any
dog.

It is best to choose food that is appropriate for your
pet's life stage. Some foods are just for 'puppies' or
'seniors'. these are formulated for a pet of a certain age
and stage of their life. Food for adults is not appropriate
for a puppy that is growing. If a food label states "100%
nutritionally complete" then the food is good for all ages.

About the Author:

http://www.joshyblog.com/dogfood-dangers/ is committed to
informing you on the best nutritional choices for your dog.
Josh Paul, admin@joshyblog.com

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